■ Stephanie Meyer got the idea for “Twilight” from a dream in which a boy and girl are seen in a meadow. The boy is beautiful, sparkles and obviously a vampire. After this dream, Meyer wrote “Twilight” and made her vampires sparkle in sunlight.

■ More than 5,000 actors auditioned for the role of Edward.

■ Robert Pattinson had never heard of “Twilight.” He auditioned only because he liked Kristen Stewart in “Into the Wild.”

■ Robert Pattinson flew from England to director Catherine Hardwicke’s home to audition. Hardwicke had him and Kristen Stewart, already cast, rehearse a love scene on her bed.

■ As soon as he was cast, Robert Pattinson moved to Oregon to work on his character. He worked out five hours a day with a trainer, learning to fight, play baseball and do stunts.

■ Illustrated Movie Guide states that Rob Pattinson wrote and performed two songs for the soundtrack. Pattinson also played piano during “Bella’s Lullaby.”

■ Kristen Stewart has green eyes, but wears brown contacts to play Bella.

■ Henry Cavill was Stephanie Meyer’s first choice to play Edward. By the time filming began, he was 25 and too old. He was offered the role of Carlisle Cullen, but by then already had been cast in “The Tudors.”

■ Taylor Lautner had to wear a wig to play Jacob Black.

■ Kristen Stewart wore hair pieces as Bella so that time was not wasted fixing her hair.

■ Kristen Stewart had been recommended by Emile Hitsch, her co-star in “Into the Wild.” Hardwicke had directed Hirsch in “Lords of Dogtown.”

■ When the evil vampires make their first appearance, actors Cam Gigandet, Rachelle Lefevre and Edi Gathegi all wore little slippers painted like bare feet.

■ Kristen Stewart turned 18 during filming. She was given a birthday cake, then returned to work for a full night of shooting.

■ The dress Bella wears to the prom cost $20. Edward’s suit was the film’s most expensive item of clothing.

■ Seated on a bench prior to prom, Bella is offered assistance by Jacob because her foot is in a cast. Edward returns and says, “I leave you alone for one second and the wolves descend” — an only slightly veiled reference to Jacob’s wolf status, which is not revealed until the second book, “New Moon.”

■ When Bella is invited to the Cullen’s home, a cross lies against the wall. Though not discussed in the film, Edward explains the history of the cross in the book. Vampires do not fear crosses.

■ The Cullen crest depicts three images: hand (faith, sincerity), lion (strength, ferocity) and the trefoil (perpetuity). Jasper, Emmett and Edward wear this crest on wristbands, Rosalie on a necklace and Alice on a choker

■ Director Catherine Hardwicke wrote possible lines for Robert Pattinson when he and Kristen Stewart jump from the bedroom window to the tree. He chose to say, “You better hold on, spider monkey.”

■ The “Twilight” Special Features DVD explains that, for the baseball scene, characters used clear plastic Christmas ornaments in place of actual baseballs because they were not wearing baseball gloves. CGI was used to make the plastic balls look like baseballs.

■ Director Catherine Hardwicke gave the nomad Victoria her own personal pants/jeans to wear during the boat scene in which James and Laurent attack Waylon Forge. The latter character was created for the film and does not appear in the book.

■ Even though breakaway glass is used for the salad bowl, Rosalie cuts her finger and bleeds on the glass. This is why she’s wearing gloves in the re-shoot. ■ MTV Films and Maverick Films were original producers, with Paramount to distribute. MTV could not find a satisfactory script and cut its ties. Summit Entertainment bought the rights, and produced and distributed the film.

■ The $69.6 million opening gross was the largest for any film directed by a woman at that time.

■ The song by Radiohead in the movie never made it onto the soundtrack.

■ Nikki Reed got Robert Pattinson’s songs into the film. She used her laptop to secretly record him singing and playing guitar, then shared it with the film’s producers.

■ When Edward enters the cafeteria, Robert Pattinson’s sister, Lizzy, can be heard singing vocals on the soundtrack.

■ Edward’s car is a Volvo C30.

■ The playing cards used during the prom were from Rio, a Las Vegas casino.

■ The red contacts worn by Laurent, Victoria and James were hand-painted by director Catherine Hardwicke.

■ Summit Entertainment agreed to finance this movie one day after “Twilight” opened in theaters.

■ Writer Stephanie Meyer said that, if she were 14, she would prefer Team Jacob because that is more her style.

■ The film’s American premiere was on Nov. 16, 2009, which, in the lunar cycle, is a new moon.

■ A vampire’s diet is revealed in the color of his eyes. The Cullens have topaz eyes because they feast on animal blood. The Volituri have red eyes because drink human blood. When the Cullens’ irises turn completely black, it is an indicator of extreme hunger.

■ Only after months of speculation and rumors, director Chris Weitz and the novels’ author, Stephanie Meyer, confirmed that Taylor Lautner would return as Jacob Black. They had doubted that he could become fit in time. But Lautner added almost 30 pounds of muscle. In addition to hiring a personal trainer, he consumed 3,200 calories a day. Lautner said, “I would literally carry a Baggie of beef patties, raw almonds and sweet potatoes. It’s not like I was eating ice cream every two hours. It was difficult.”

■ Each member of the Wolf Pack had to have papers proving his Native American descent. Chaske Spencer is Lakota Sioux, Bronson Pelletier is Cree-Metis, Alex Meraz is Purepecha (Tarasco), Kiowa Gordon is Hualapai, and Tyson Houseman is Cree.

■ Bella and Edward were in a swimming pool in Vancouver with weights in their pockets to film the scene when she jumps off a cliff into the ocean.

■ The Italian policemen seen pulling over Alice’s Porsche, when Bella hops out to help Edward, are not actors; they are real policemen from Italy.

■ “Kwop kilawtley” means “Stay with me forever.” This is the Quileute translation for what Jacob says to Bella when they almost kiss in the kitchen.

■ Director Chris Weitz pulled off a trick when Edward gets out of a truck and argues with Bella after her birthday party. Weitz put Edward next to the camera on the right, but used his double, dressed like Edward, in the driver’s seat. When Edward gets out, it is the double; when the real Edward steps in front of the camera, it appears he got there faster than humanly possible.

■ Tippett Studio created CGI wolves for “New Moon,” but first visited a wolf preserve and studied the animals for hours before starting work. Effects supervisor Susan MacLeod said, “We built the wolves from the inside out in the computer. We started with a skeletal system with moving joints that can be animated. On top of that, we laid muscles that can flex. Then a layer of skin and fur. We wanted them to look and act like real wolves, without any sort of anthropomorphic quality.”

■ Actress Dakota Fanning accepted the small role of Jane, a guard for the Volturi who has the power to inflict pain with her mind. Fanning decided to take the role primarily because it would help her prepare for playing Cherie Currie in “The Runaways” opposite Kristen Stewart, cast as Joan Jett.

“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” 2010, directed by David Slade.

■ Bryce Dallas Howard originally turned down the role of Victoria, believing it was too small. She later accepted the part, replacing Rachelle Lefevre. This marks the fifth time Howard was cast as a replacement. She replaced Kirsten CQ Dunst in “The Village” (2004), Nicole Kidman in “Manderlay” (2005), Lindsay Lohan in “The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond” (2008), and Clair Danes in “Terminator Salvation” (2009).

■ Rachelle Lefevre had to be fired from playing Victoria because the filming schedule for her movie “Barney’s Version” (2010) overlapped.

■ Paul Weitz and Drew Barrymore had been considered as directors.

■ David Slade said earlier that he would not go near the “Twilight” series. After being hired to direct “Eclipse,” he claimed he had made a joke to promote some comedy shorts.

■ Kristen Stewart wore a wig in this film because she had cut her hair short to star in “The Runaways” (2010).

■ Carlisle changed Rosalie into a vampire because he pitied her and hoped she would become Edward’s mate.

■ In this movie, Bella admits to her father that she is still a virgin.

■ Kristen Stewart received her high school diploma by correspondence one week before filming Bella’s graduation scene.

■ Taylor Lautner told talk show host Jimmy Kimmel that censors required that the wolves have no genitalia whatsoever when they appear on screen.

■ Scenes of Victoria building her army were based on the novella “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner,” written by Stephanie Meyer and distributed, in first draft form, to cast members.

■ Robert Pattinson refused to let his eyebrows be plucked and waxed, as they had been in the prior two films.

■ Power within the Cullen family: Alice can see into the future. She cannot see werewolves because she never has been one. She can see vampires and humans, as she has been both. Edward can read minds. Jasper can change people’s emotions.

■ Jacob is rusty brown in wolf form. The only black werewolf is pack leader Sam.

■ According to Bella and Edward’s wedding invitation, the Cullens live at 420 Woodcroft Ave., Forks, WA.

■ Robert Pattinson went through a six-month diet and exercise regimen, stopping after his sex scene was filmed.

■ Kristen Stewart said Taylor Lautner was in tears after watching an unfinished cut of the movie.

■ The sex scene between Edward and Bella originally earned an R rating. It had to be re-edited to receive a desired PG-13.

■ Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner struggled to keep from laughing during the birth scene, especially when their characters tried to bring Bella back to life.

■ A puppet and a 3-week-old baby were used for the birth scene. Strawberry jam and cream cheese were mixed and used to simulate blood on the newborn.

■ Despite taking boat driving lessons, Robert Pattinson crashed the boat both during lessons and also while filming in Brazil.

■ During their wedding vows and first kiss as husband and wife, the song heard was “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” by Iron & Wine. They danced to the same song at Bella’s prom. The song was suggested by Kristen Stewart.

■ It took three hours to make Kristen Stewart appear emaciated; more makeup effects were created digitally in post-production.

■ Robert Pattinson spoke Portuguese for scenes in which Edward interacts with housekeepers in Brazil.

■ The production budget allowed only one week of filming in Brazil; most indoor honeymoon scenes were shot on a sound stage in Louisiana.

■ More than 1,400 special effects shots were used in this movie, most of them on Kristen Stewart to achieve Bella’s pregnancy appearance.

■ Stephanie Meyer was credited for the first time as producer.

■ Stephanie Meyer and producer Wyck Godfrey made cameo appearances as wedding guests, and can be seen as Bella walks down the aisle.

■ Bella’s body was prosthetic from the shoulders down in the birth scene. There was an opening in the table, so Kristen Stewart could comfortably lay down underneath the table top while allowing her head and shoulders to remain visible. To achieve movements of her prosthetic limbs, a puppeteer also was under the table, controlling them.

■ The sex scene between Edward and Bella during their honeymoon lasts 40 seconds on screen.

Final ‘Twilight’

■ Film: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2.”

■ Director: Bill Condon.

■ Opens: Today at Premiere Cinemas and Tinseltown 17.

■ Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sensuality and partial nudity.